Charlotte Rains Dixon

Rain and Writing

We woke to rain in Portland this morning and I cheered. I know, I know, but as a native Oregonian, I love the rain. Plus it had been humid (by our standards) for awhile and it felt like we needed a good storm to clear it out. And that meant I didn’t have to water […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 9 years ago

Writing Practice Writing Process

The Tyranny of Word Count

Every morning on my calendar I note how many words I’ve written (my main fiction writing time is early in the morning). My goal is 1500-2000 words a day, which is a nice pace for me. If I’m on, I can hit 2K easily, but on off days, 500 words is a stretch. Counting words […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 9 years ago

Mindset

The Writing Reframe: Ditch Your Eeyore Statements

I’m working on a book with an awesome client and we have the best conversations as the book flows out. We talk about a lot of spiritual and universal principles as she tells me her story. One anecdote she told me last week has stayed with me. There was a time when she was confused […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 9 years ago

Five Things on Friday

Five on Friday: July 8, 2016

Well, howdy. It’s been awhile since I’ve done a Five on Friday, mainly because I’ve been busy doing stuff but no particular things stand out, if you know what I mean. But since I know you’re just dying for an update (ha, like you don’t have five million things going on yourself), here goes: What […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 9 years ago07/06/2016

Otherwhere

Well Hey, Otherwhere, It’s Nice to See You Again!

I’ve been remiss in providing you with Otherwhere links for quite some time now. The problem is not that I don’t have enough, it’s that I have too many. And when I start to corral them, I get overwhelmed. Okay. Deep breath. Here we go (and forgive me if they are not in any particular […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 9 years ago

Procrastination Writing Habits

Out of Sync

I’ve been out of sync with my writing lately. (And my blog posts, too, as you may have noticed.) Off my feed, unchained from my computer, thinking about things other than my writing. I’m best when I write every day, or close to it. I get into a rhythm and it becomes just something I […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 9 years ago

inspiration Mindset Writing

The Glorious Avidity of the Beginner’s Mind

“In the beginning mind, there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” Suzuki Roshi I don’t know about you, but I consider myself an expert. Yep, I sure do. Because I’ve been writing novels for a gazillion years and teaching fiction writing for half that time. I’ve studied long enough to have […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 9 years ago06/14/2016

Creativity Uncategorized Writing

Meanwhile, I’ll Be Busy Making S*&% Up

Writing a novel is, at heart, all about making shit up. That phrase–making shit up–became the constant refrain of my Mapping the Novel workshop at the Sitka Center last week. (It was the BEST workshop ever, mostly because of my wonderful students, but also because of the fabulous staff and the spectacular location. I could go […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 9 years ago

Fear Uncategorized

Feel the Fear And Do It Anyway — For Writers and Creatives

Feel the fear and do it anyway is one of the great all-time phrases ever. And I certainly can’t take credit for the words. It was the title of a book that came out years ago, by Susan Jeffers, and I clutched that book to me like a life raft at the time. I was […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 9 years ago

Journal Writing Uncategorized

Writing Your Way Back to Yourself

Years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing Madeleine L’Engle, author of one of the best books ever, A Wrinkle in Time, speak. I brought my sister, a designer along. L’Engle was inspiring, gracious, and fascinating and when her talk was over, my sister turned to me and said, “She makes me wish I was […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 9 years ago05/31/2016

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